Reference no: EM133046662
1) At a national accounting firm, account executives-essentially, the sales reps for the organization-appear to have tremendous power. Each one handles only a few major clients, with whom they work very closely. Internally, the account executives are deeply involved in the work of each project team assembled to work on client accounts, and they have frequent interactions with many other departments, such as legal and billing. Which of the following statements best summarizes the power held by account executives?
Group of answer choices
a) Account executives' power comes from nonsubstitutability, meaning that no other members of the organization could serve the same functions as the account executives.
b) Account executives' power comes their intimate knowledge of and control over the financial state of the organization's clients.
c) Account executives' power comes from their ability to reduce uncertainty within the organization based on their intimate knowledge of the organization's clients.
d) Account executives' power comes from centrality, in that they interact closely with many other departments, serve as the primary liaisons with the organization's clients, and thus directly influence the final output of the organization.
2) Cashiers at Save-A-Dollar are using outdated cash registers that require far more effort and time than modern equipment. Customers sometimes lose their patience due to the slow machines, and several of the cashiers suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome because of those old registers. Bonnie, one of the cashiers, has suggested an upgrade to the manager several times, but he doesn't see the need for change. Of the following political tactics, which one should Bonnie use to convince the manager to make this investment?
Group of answer choices
a) Become an expert on using new register equipment and promise to train the other cashiers on the new equipment when it arrives
b)Convince the other cashiers to work extra shifts at no cost in exchange for new register equipment
c)Appeal to the manager's sympathy by emphasizing the health problems related to the old equipment
d) Convince the other cashiers to join her in making an appeal to the manager
3) In a large pharmaceutical company, researchers are divided up into teams. Once each quarter, team leaders meet with the head of R&D to provide progress reports, explain why promising projects should continue, and request funding for ongoing work. Based on the presentations, the R&D head then determines which teams move forward with ongoing projects and which teams get reassigned to new projects. What two types of vertical power does the R&D head wield?
a) Control of information and network centrality
b) Network centrality and people
c) Resources and formal position
d) Formal position and control of information
4) In forward-thinking organizations, top managers want lower-level employees to have greater power so they can do their jobs more effectively.
t/f
5) Legitimate power stems from the ability to bestow rewards-a promotion, raise, or pat on the back-to other people.
t/f
6) Power in organizations is:
a) exercised through individual political behavior.
b) associated with individuals acting alone, not with departments acting collectively.
c) always used to the benefit of an individual, not for a department or the organization as a whole.
d) determined by a manager's personality and style.
7) Which of the following is an example of political activity related to structural change?
a) Howard, a mid-level manager, has decided to retire next year, so he informs Terry, his favorite employee, in advance so that she can start working on the high-profile projects and building the relationships she'll need to land Howard's position when he's gone.
b) Learning that she must phase out three employees from her 22-person team in response to the organization's declining performance over the past several years, Patricia negotiates a healthy severance package for the three downsized employees.
c) Jin, a team leader, senses that shifts in the external environment are about to make her team's work more valuable to the organization, so she approaches upper management with a proposal to split off her team into its own department with herself as the new department head.
d) Li, the head of a clean water project within a larger nonprofit organization, makes sure he attends every organizational fundraiser so he can serve as an evangelist for his project.